Elliot's Trackside Diner, October 2012

[galaxy]

Toto, we're still in Kansas, so follow the yellow brick road to..

The Diner!

Coffee and donuts in the diner

When The diner or trains won't do for transport, we were often told as children, or told our children to ride "Shanks' mare". ANd here, I thought my mother made it all up. SO:

SHanks' Mare/ Shanks' Pony'

meaning: on your own two feet as transportation!

Origin:

Shanks' (or shanks's) mare (or nag or pony) derives from the name of the lower part of the leg between the knee and ankle - the shank, nowadays more often known as the shin-bone or tibia. This was alluded to in the early form of this term - shank's nag. This originated in Scotland in the 18th century. There are several early citations in Scottish literature, as here in Robert Fergusson's Poems on Various Subjects, 1774:

"He took shanks-naig, but fient may care."

When it crossed the Atlantic, the expression migrated into 'shank's mare', which remains the common form in the USA. It was first referred to there in the 1860s. This rather unfortunate prediction was made in the Iowa newspaper The Dubuque Daily Herald in May 1869:

"A public exhibition of the velocipede [a predecessor of the bicycle] was given on the streets last evening by Mr. Clark, who managed the vehicle with considerable skill... They are a toy, and will never come into general use in competition with Shank's mare."

In the UK and Australia the term is commonly 'shanks' pony'. It is sometimes capitalized as 'Shank's pony' as some reports claim it to have derived from an individual called Shanks, or from the Shanks & Company Ltd. (formed in 1853 and now absorbed into Armitage Shanks), who previously manufactured lawn-mowing machines. One such horse-drawn mower had no seat and the driver had to walk behind it. Examples of these machines still exist and this would be a plausible theory (albeit one lacking in any real evidence) if it weren't for the clear pre-dating of the Scottish references.

An alternative version of this allusory phrase is "the horse of ten toes".

The prayer candle is lit for those in need.

Have a great day!

[TMarsh]

 

Good Morning!!!

Coffee and some SOS please. Thanks.

Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. North wind 10 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Currently it’s 40°.

Ken- Nope didn’t miss the post, just by the time I got to typing, I got sidetrack to something else. BUT that doesn’t mean I’m not very happy about the report. I hope it stays that way. Now if that toe can just get better and stay that way as easy as well. What I don’t get, and you’re not alone trust me, is when they have a place and people that specifically do things such as the clinic for ulcers on the foot, when you have such an ulcer... on the foot, why don’t they send you there in the first place. Makes no sense. Kinda like having you heat a branding iron with a match, then after most of the cows are done, you stumble to the other side of the barn to find this grand fire pit.

Something else I was gonna say too….   Oh well,

I’ll be tiling until about oh say noonish today. Like I said I don’t like w**king too much after noon on days I w**k. Mr Murphy usually shows up, things take longer then I get frustrated having a wall of a deadline to get to w**k, plus having to clean up the tools and such and.., me. It takes me longer than most also. Part because though I’m not big, I’m kinda tall. Not tall as Jim, but just a frog hair under 6’3” and when crouching in a 3’X3’ shower, with the arms and legs folded and all I have a tendency to be bumping, smearing things around and generally falling into anything that will get all over me, and then transferred to whatever surface I next come into contact with. Sooooo, I spend quite a bit of time cleaning off things.  I’m the king of the phrase “how in the heck did that get on there?!”

Ya’ll have a good day, ya hear!!!!

[LSWrr]

Good Morning all,

 

Today it was 73f when I let the dog out, but it should be 49f when I leave work.  Yesterday we hit 83f.  Dorothy and I played with Katje outside and carved pumpkins in shorts and tee shirts while the AC ran inside the house.  I’m sure today the furnace will be running…

 

Ray, that’s a cool hillside/mountain are you going to have some cows or deer in the grassy areas?  The group that moved into town at the last minute to preserve the bridge kind of P*&@# me off; they claimed they wanted to preserve the bridge for the veterans, really?  You want to build a 5 star restaurant that most veterans won’t be able to afford?   As a veteran I felt dirty and used every time they opened their mouth.  I would have understood their position a little better if they hadn’t “used us” as a sympathy reason to listen to them, don’t use us veterans for your personal gain or to get free advertising on the news…

 

Their claim that it’s one of only 2 swing bridges left in the US is completely unfounded; I think I have 12 active swing bridges in my area alone and it’s still a viable design for spanning waterways greater than 130 feet wide.  There was consideration in building a new swing bridge in Wisconsin this past year using the warren truss type of construction.

 

I wonder what they are going to do with that freight station nearby that the contractor wants to build an apartment building on top of.  It looks like a long pole barn that has been neglected for 50 years…..

 

Ken, I guess I missed that post also I typically don’t get to the diner but once a day during the weekday mornings, so maybe I’ll see it in a couple of minutes.  My latest surgery has me with a borderline low sugar issue so I have to keep an eye on things so I don’t pass out but not as severe as some people have.

[JohnReid]

Bonjour y'all ! Coffee is good this morning,I wish that I could have a piece of the raisin pie Flo but I am trying to cut back.

Thank you Garry for your concern,it is much appreciated.Yeah I am havin' lots of fun with the 4-4-0 diorama.

I am working on something different this time by putting an HO scale diorama within a 1/24 scale diorama,kind of a diorama within a diorama.I hope all you guys have a wonderful day .Cheers! John.

[blownout cylinder]

Ken:  Those are good numbers for sure..

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 66° with 100% humidity. The high will be 65°. It'll be mostly cloudy with a fair chance of rain.


I have no idea what will be going on today. I may get some layout work in later if I have the time. I don't want to get started on something only to have it interrupted ten minutes later.

It looks like we may get some rain today. While we do need it there's a good possibility it'll make things messy too. The parish has managed to screw up the road pretty badly. It was a good gravel road with good drainage. They hauled in a bunch of clay rich dirt and graded it out so the edges are higher than the middle. That doesn't allow drainage and has the predictable result.

[cudaken]

 Morning Dinners

 Flo, coffee pleases.

 Thanks for the well wishes on the C1A test. I hope I can keep the numbers in that range all the time.

 I work out in St Charles Mo again today, that hour drive sucks. I go in at 10:00 AM so I have to be on the road at 9:00 AM. I wonder what kind of fun things today will bring? I hate working at that store!

 When I was wanting to learn to play guitar I stopped at a Local Music Store and asked about lessons. It was the early 70's and I was dress like a hippie, long hair, tee shirt and jeans with holes in them. Store manger seemed to think I needed to learn Bass! I said "No I want to play a six string". He then asked if I was in school? I said yes "I am a Junior in High School". He said OK and started showing me 6 stings guitar's! True Story!

 A boy came home from his first bass lesson. His dad asked him how it went. "Today we learned the E string."
The boy came home from his second lesson and dad asked him how it went. "Today we learned the A string."
The boy came home from his third lesson. Dad asked, "So did you learn the D string today?"
"Nope. Today I had a gig."

 Going to run the trains a little before work, see you all tonight.

           Ken

[LSWrr]

Jeff, what color clay do you guys have down there?  We have the brown clay and blue clay up here, when I was in TX we had black clay.  Nothing worse than working with the blue clay...

That is pretty dumb to grade the shoulder higher than the middle unless you want to have a duck race durring the next thunderstorm.

Hurricane Sandy is going to mess up our weather for the next week or so by drawing all that Canada air though Ohio to get to VA.  Weather guessers are calling for up to 1" of rain everyday for the next 10 days. 

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, Diners.  Chloe, I will have a large coffee, please.

Chilli at Todd's this weekend?  Count me in.  Can't wait to see what the tile looks like.

Ray,  Nice rocks.  They look like they should have a climber on them.

Later,  Sue

[gear-jammer]

Does anyone understand the post count?  My number seems to go down if I miss a day.

?????

Sue

[jeffrey-wimberly]

LSWrr

Jeff, what color clay do you guys have down there?  We have the brown clay and blue clay up here, when I was in TX we had black clay.  Nothing worse than working with the blue clay...

Red, yellow, blue, white, black, brown, take your pick and we got it. The worst in my opinion is the white. It's hard and you just slide around on top of it. Digging through it is like smashing through concrete. When my septic tank was being put in the track hoe hit a thick layer of it. They had to change from a bucket to a spike so they could try and break it up. It took nearly an hour to go down six inches! The stuff is horrid.

*

gear-jammer

Does anyone understand the post count?  My number seems to go down if I miss a day.

Yeah, the post count si all screwed up. You think yours is bad? Mine went from 20,200+ to zero!

[LSWrr]

The white clay is used for sinks and toliets right?

The blue clay up here is the kind where it never dries out and if you dig you have to use your foot to clear the shovel.  If you use a backhoe you need 2 guys with a firehose to clear the bucket on each shovel.

 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

LSWrr

The white clay is used for sinks and toliets right?

Sadly not. That would make it useful. When it dries it becomes very brittle and breaks up easily. Then when it gets wet it again hardens . The interesting thing is when it's just damp it's soft, squishy and a general nightmare to handle. And yes, we have the blue stuff here too but it's usually mixed with other types. It still has to be scraped off of the scoop bucket though. We have something else here that you'd absolutely enjoy working with. Down here it's called soapstone. It's a grayish white in color, very thick and sticky though not as hard as the white stuff. It's sometimes used as an underlayment on light duty paved roads to give the road surface some 'bounce'. Bad thing is if a vehicle that's too heavy for the road goes over it it'll break through and leave the imprint of the tires. So now it's a paved road with ruts!

[chochowillie]

LSWrr

Hurricane Sandy is going to mess up our weather for the next week or so by drawing all that Canada air though Ohio to get to VA.  Weather guessers are calling for up to 1" of rain everyday for the next 10 days. 

Just trying to keep the "balance of trade" between our two great nations in balance LSWrr  Sort of trying to help you folks out with your economic problems down your way. We can send you folks a dump of sn*w too so you can make snow cones to sell to the kids down Jeffrey's way where it's still hot

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, I'll have a cup of dark roast coffee and a couple sour cream glazed donuts, please.

Currently 67°F under partly cloudy/somewhat sunny skies.  I'll be spending much of the day out at my son's house helping him get some things cleaned up.  Then we will be celebrating his 46th. birthday early...  he has to work on his birthday so they decided Friday evening would be the best.  Since this will be the last of the nice weather for over a week, I think they made the right decision.

Looks like we will be hosting the last of hurricane Sandy here in the Finger Lakes about Tuesday.  THAT ought to get the rest of the leaves off the Maple next door...  Just hope it doesn't have enough wallop left to do any major damage.  Predictions are for 25 to 30 mph winds.

Lee, always someone looking to be "Patriotic" to make a buck or two out there. 

Barry, so sorry to hear you will need more chemo!  My prayers go with you, my friend.

Thanks for the comments on the progress for the mountain...  Still a lot to be done.  I do plan to have a few deer grazing in the clear cut in the upper area.  Trees will be added around much of it, vines growing up (or down) the rock faces in places, and a lot more scrub bushes and saplings.  As I said about 2/3rds done at the moment.  Next week i should be close to being finished as it looks like I will be housebound for a while.

Best get moving, I still have things to do before heading over to my son's house.

Later!

73

[LSWrr]

Please keep the band jokes coming, two of the guys in the office are in a band and I’ve been using the provided jokes all day…

 

We have soapstone here but it’s not that common.  I found some on the beach and brought it home and put it in my fish tank.  Wasn’t I surprised when it started to dissolve?

 

When I was in Kuwait the port had floating rocks, pumice that had bonded with saltwater leaving air pockets in the stones allowing them to float.  It’s bad enough hitting a rock on the bottom….

 

Sandy is going to mix with cold Canada air, the weather guessers are calling it a “frankenstorm” The storm will roll through the Finger Lakes then hit us here in Cleveland like a Nor’easter. There is a chance that mixing with the arctic air it might change the rain to sn*w with up to 50Kts winds.  Then the eye of the storm will head inland to Lake Erie.

 

I’m heading to Utica, MI this weekend to see the kids maybe a stop at Great Lakes Hobby will be in order

[galaxy]

Evenin'

Went to the dentist, can you say "yowser!!!!" He was fractions of millimeters away form the nerve. "the good new and bad news," he said, "is we have saved the tooth this time, but next time it will have to be pulled". He gave me a few- only a few- of the good drugs for pain. On the way home the nerve was all jumpin' and on fire so I got the script filled and took one right away so it is working when the anesthetic wears off.

SOup for dinner for me...

and now time for a nap..muchly needed...

Here's hoping Frankenstorm Sandy peters out befofre hitting land here and making a mess..we are not prepared for it and I just finally go tthe ffreezers full of meat again...

[Burlington Northern #24]

howdy, everybody I've been working on my Dash 8-40cw DS (dual service) it will be operating as a passenger and freight loco. after the gloss coat dries so that the finish is protected.

Before: 

after:

[tcwright973]

Todd - I understand about wondering how grout, cement, glue and other substrances get in places you don't want. After I retired from the Fire Dept. I worked for a couple of years for a guy installing flooring. Once while working out of town, we were running  behind schedule and I went out to call the wife on my new cell phone and let her know I would be home late. Oops, it was a no go. Somehow grout got all over the keys and was hard as a rock. Took me 3 days to scrape the grout out so I could use the phone. I left it in my truck after that. Always wondered how I got so much in my hair, inside my pants pockets and on my shoe laces.   Tom

[chochowillie]

Hey Todd  I see you are another retired firefighter  Me too and yes, I too worked for a number of years doing reno's after I retired. Must be part of the FF breed or something.

Where did you do your fire service Todd?

Cheers

Dennis

[Curt Webb]

Evening All,

Went up to the LHS for some modeling advice and had a nice talk. I got my flu shot earlier in the week and finally got all my paperwork in for the previous short term disability I was on after I had the surgery.

I wired up the new lights and tested them so I plan on installing them tomorrow. I also finished the container yard so I will post some photos to WPF.

John Reid- I'm saying prayers for your wife and that is a neat loco.

Jeff- I really like how you used lighting in the UP loco picture.

Ken- Great news on your sugar and hopefully that packing will allow your big toe to heal.

Alvie- I wish you luck.

Ray- Awesome looking rocks and hill side.

Barry- Sorry about your health news and I will say prayers for you.

Hope everyone has a good night and prayers for those in need.

 

[Packer]

Evening guys

Been working on the RR some more. I'm in the process of adding working beacons to a few of my locos. I just have to wire in the resistors and program them. So far my 2 SD45s, a GP30,  and an SW10 have been modified to allow it. I've still yet to do my 2 GP38Xs and my GP38-2. I'm probably going to solder the first group before going to the MR club tomorrow morning, and use the GP30 and my GP15 as a switching set.

The SW10 has a snag. it's the newer RTR athearn. When I was changing the decoder to one that supports extra functions; the 9-pin harness came off. Tried to solder it back on but no luck. I *could* use the 8-pin plug, but it would require more soldering (something I don't like and i'm not that great at) to get the function outputs and even more programming. NTM, all the rubber boots are MIA. I'll see about getting another board from athearn on monday. Also to do on monday is send 4 decoders to NCE for repairs. a 4-pack of decoders was all bad....

Ken, still intrested in those P1K F3 chassis? good work on the low blood sugar reading.

Ray, the rocky outcropping looks good.

i'll be back later.

[chochowillie]

Evening one and all. Just a bowl of chicken soup for supper tonight Dear Lady, feels like the flu bug is setting in... Thanks!!!

Curt Just a quick question.. What brand of Turn Table & Roundhouse are in you picture below. Thanks Curt, I'll just go over here in the corner, eat my soup, and get out of here before I infect everyone else 

CDN Dennis

[Curt Webb]

CDN Dennis- Both are Walthers. The TT is the DCC 130' newest version. I have had it about 9 months I think. The RH is the base kit plus 3 add on stalls. I built the RH months before I was shipped the TT and if I had to do it again I would install the TT then build the RH after the track was alinged with the TT. I think it would be easier for alignment. Make sure you keep drinking plenty of fluids and hope you feel better real soon.

[cudaken]

 Evening Folks!

 Flo, Beer Pleases!

 It is nice to be in charge once in a while! Work Front! No, not what you are thinking I did not get a store. As some may know I have been forced to work at our St Charles MO store this week. Manager (Scott) has no human skills at all, much like the Evil Larry I worked in the early part of this year. (Evil Larry's Motorcycle and Truck got on fire on different occasions when moved to a more pro active store than mine!)  While Scott does not Yell he has the same mentality. Both X Navy, what do they do to theses guys to make them complete Jerks?

 Called My Store today to find out if or when I work Saturday? Eric (my manager said I was not on the schedule this week.Told him I was not going back too St Charles, but if I did at the most one day! Got home and called my store again, seems Dave (area supervisor) told him I was going to be out there next week as well and asked "Didn't Dave Call You"? Told him no and told him I will call him back.   

  So I called Dave! (now Dave is a sharp guy, but he is a Bully Wimp Guy, when he is pushed back he will back down quickly! So I called Dave and asked him what was up with next week. Said he needed me in the St Charles store all next week. Flat told him "That is not going to happen, "I will go 1 day but after that I don't care if Scott has to work 200 hours a week for the rest of the year!" I recapped why I don't want to work there again. I all so pointed out that when I was working at the St Peters MO store witch is 85 miles out trip (St Charles is 79 miles) I never complained! He agrees and see if he can find another sucker to help that store! I will be there Sunday, but other than that, I am done! There is a reason Scott is short handed and I know why!

 Flo, here is the back!

 How can you tell the stage is level at a gig?
The bassist drools outta both sides of their mouth.

 See you all Saturday, I am off! I wonder why?

 Ken

[Curt Webb]

Ken- Really? I don't think being in the Navy has anything to do about being a jerk. I believe a persons character has more impact.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

LSWrr

Please keep the band jokes coming, two of the guys in the office are in a band and I’ve been using the provided jokes all day…

Lee ..... I hope everybody made a note of that.  

BN 24 :  .... Nice BN units.

Vincent .... Looks like you and BN 24 share a common interest in BN

Ken .... Sounds like work is a real adventure. 

I hope the big storm heads east out to sea. 

I finally got around to getting the turn signal light fixed on Shelley's car. It cost about $86.00 to change a light bulb. 

[kbkchooch]

Hi Gang!

Got home from work today, was met at the exit to our development by my firewood guy. yes, there was another cord dumped in the back yard! So I stacked wood til dark, finishing up by the light of the floodlight on the back of the house. Yeah, all I got to say is "oh my achin back!" That makes 2 full cords in the yard, and a quarter cord in the rack in the basement! That should hold us for awhile!

Goin to the train show in Timonium tomorrow, and here's a twist. After 19 years, I'm going as a paying customer! Since I have left the FCSME, the one perk that I miss was free admission to the show. Of course, the other side of that is I don't have to haul modules or devote a weekend to putting on a show..I can just browse, shop, relax and leave as I please!  

Sandy is supposed to get here sometime Monday. I'm not looking forward to it, but we are reasonably well prepared. Usually, if we have a power outage, it's only for an hour or 2, still, I've been thinking about a generator. Oh well, if it happens, it happens. 

Ray, Again, the rocks are incredible

Paul, prayers for the wife

Barry, sorry to hear the news, but keep punchin, we all want to see you win!

And to my fellow right coasters,,batten down the hatches!!!!  LOL! 

L8ter!

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Janie, just mu usual cup of decaf please. Ate way too much at my son's birthday party tonight...

I went over early afternoon to see how much outside stuff my son and I could get done this afternoon before dinner.  He was mowing the part of the front lawn that is not still covered in small branches of the Maple tree he had taken down over a year ago....  I got busy with his string trimmer cleaning up the tall weeds and grass around the foundation of the house, the area with a raised planter, and was doing the stone and concret on the edge of the driveway when the trimmer line got stuck.  he was done playing with the ride onj mower, so we headed down to the lower end of the property where there is the remains of what was a few years ago a pool...  I drove the truck down to help collect the sand filter and some other odds and ends.  One of the days activities was trying to remove the aluminum sides of the pool.  It was one long strip of aluminum.  He undid the bolts holding it together and we discussed how to get it pulled out and up to the house to cut up for scrap.  He tried pulling it with a light cable attached to his lawn mower tractor.  It snapped without even starting to pull the stuck metal out of the pool area.  Grandpa provided an old tow strap I had in the truck.  This did better but after about 10 feet the tractor just sat and spun its wheels.  Old Dodge Dakota to the rescue.  The truck pulled it out with no problem and I towed it up to the lawn next to the driveway.  Of course now we have to cut it up because it is way too heavy to fold up in one piece and put in the back of the pickup.  Since he doesn't own a pair of tin snips, we headed to town to buy a pair  (it was either that or me drive back to my house to get mine...).  A convenience store for beer and the liquor store for a bottle of wine (for the party) later we finally got to the hardware store and bought a pair of tin snips.  Back home, made two cuts, and dinner was ready.  I'm betting we will finish the job sometime next July...

We are battening down the hatches in anticipation of Sandy arriving.  Winds should be under 40 by the time she reaches here, but still a bit worse than anything we normally have here in the Finger Lakes.

Ken, In the 22nd Century, how many guitarists will it take to change a light source?  Five – One to do it and 4 to reminisce about how much better the old tubes were.

Oh!  Thanks for the kind comments about the project...

I will be at the "Rare Mileage Excursion" all day tomorrow (in the rain) and then out to work on the RR Merit Badge with Scouts on Sunday (in the rain).  May or may not be in for coffee before I go.

Hope you all have a great night, and prayers going out to all in need!

73

[cudaken]

Curt Webb

Ken- Really? I don't think being in the Navy has anything to do about being a jerk. I believe a persons character has more impact.

 Curt while the point is well taken, I have only worked 3 X Navy guys that I know of. One was super nice and two where jerks. Jim the nice one was a Bubble Head (submariner) and his command could not jump ship! (well if they could breathe water maybe) Evil Larry was landlocked and I don't know if Scott was ever afloat.

 When I went to the Army NCO Academy one thing still sticks in my mind. "Leadership is the ability to tell some to go to hell and have them look forward to the trip!"  

 Whats the difference between a bass player and a large pizza?

 A large pizza can feed a family of four.

 Now where is the drummer when I need one to do a rim shoot? 

 Time to 

  Ken